Week 3: Another Jürgen Habermas!

Wow! I thought that quizz would be fun... well, it was, but I actually had to think about my answers much longer than I thought I would!

Nevertheless, I am not very surprised with my result (I am another Jürgen Habermas!), even more so when I read the result's explanation. In any research project I undertook, I have always:

1. Chosen to interpreted the meaning of things in the world around me;
2. Interpreted meanings without keeping my own perspective separate from my research;
3. Started with the idea that there was no absolute truth;
4. Used reason and argument to arrive at the best interpretation.

And to me, #4 explains the beauty of research: how it helps us create a better understanding of any phenomenon/thing through many interpretations of reality. Every project, should, in my mind, either build on existing research and try to fill a gap or give a new perspective on a phenomenon/thing, or provide an interpretation/a perspective on a new/unknown/unresearched phenomenon, from which other researchers may later build on in order to create a broader/better/more complete interpretation of it.

And that is what I will be trying to do with my research for this course. I will be building on current knowledge on Rousseau's work, using all kinds of materials (books, scholarly articles, interviews, etc.) - which are to me are never facts of Rousseau's work, but always interpretations of it (I even believe what he would himself say about his work would be his own interpretation of it, and not a fact!) - to bring a new perspective on his work, through and with my personal perspective/ideas/lens, thus improving/broadening our understanding our his work. Though, by that, I do not mean that I will purely interpret his work based on nothing. I will use reason and argument to arrive at the best interpretation, and will always remain open to the idea of being disproven or that my interpretation may be improved by other research. 

Even though I feel strongly about "my" epistemology, I am always open to other ways of understanding and I enjoy being convinced otherwise about something with strong arguments. I think everytime it happens, the new knowledge that I acquire and the new way of understanding something that I have make me a wiser and better researcher.